tions given for one will serve for the other. They spawn about the middle of March, and will take any fly, especially the stonecadew-fly, May-fly, the latter end of April and most part of May; and the ant-fly, in June, July, and August. When you angle for the Dace with the ant-fly under water, let it be about two hands breadth from the ground. They never refuse a fly in a warm day on the top of the water. The best bait for them in the winter, is the earth bob, it is the spawn of the beetle, and is to be found by following the plough in sandyish grounds; put them into a vessel with some of the earth from whence they are taken, and use them all the winter as an excellent bait, as I have before mentioned in the description of baits. As for your line, &c. the directions given for the roach, will serve in all respects for the dace or dare.

Dace may be also taken with flesh-flies, upon the surface of the water; into whose backs, between the wings, you must put your hook, which should be very small: they bite in the morning and evening; you must then provide a cane-rod, which is the lightest of any, and let it be seventeen feet, at least, in length, and your line, which should, from the middle downwards, consist of single-hairs, be a little longer than your rod; then provide a sufficient quantity of house-flies, which keep in a phial, stopped with a cork. With these repair, especially about seven or eight o'clock in a summer's evening, to a mill-stream, and having fixed three or four hooks, with single hair-links, not above four inches long, to your line, bait them with the flies, and angle up the surface of the water on the smoothest part, at the end of the stream; the dace will rise freely,

especially if the sun does not shine on that part of the water where you cast the flies, and you may take two or three at a time. This sport will continue as long as day-light will permit you to see the flies. In the same manner dace will also rise at the ant-fly upon the surface of the water, if used in the morning at the foot of a current or mil-stream, or on the scour before the sun comes on the water. If the water is high, so as to be almost equal with its banks, take your fly-rod, and fasten to your rod an artificial-fly, called the caterpillar-fly, or a small red-palmer, then take a large yellow gentle, the yellower the better, run the hook through the skin of it, and draw it up to the tail of the fly: this being done, whip it on the surface of the water, and if you are diligent and expert, you will have good di version. If you angle where two mill-streams are going at the same time, let it be in the eddy between the two streams: first make use of your plummet; if the water is deep, angle within a foot of the bottom, and perhaps you will find but poor sport; but if it proves to be shallow, that is, about the depth of two feet, or not exceeding three, your sport may be better; bait your hook with three large gentles, use a cork flout, be very attentive and strike at the very first bite; if there are any large dace in the mill-pool, they will resort to the eddy between the two

streams.

This fish, like the roach is gregarious, haunts the same places, is a great breeder, very lively, and during the summer is very fond of frolicing near the surface of the water; it is seldom above ten inches long, and has been taken of one pound and a half weight.

N. B. Whenever you fish for roach or dace,

H

at ground, without you use a ground bait, the attempt is almost useless; after great heats, wheu the weather gets cool, you will be sure to have. good sport.

The hooks, No. 11 or 12.

GOBIUS FLUVIATILIS,

The Gudgeon; is a fish that affords the young angler an amazing deal of diversion; being one that bites very free, and when struck is never lost, because he is a leather-mouthed fish. They spawn three or four times in the summer, and their feeding is like the barbel's, in the streams and on gravel, slighting all manner of flies Their baits

are chiefly wasps, gentles, and cads, but the small red-worm is best. When you angle for them, be: provided with a gudgeon-rake, with which rake. the ground every ten minutes, which gathers them together. A single-haired line is best, with aquill or cork float, according to the rapidity of the stream; your hook, No. 8 or 9, and your bait on the ground. You may angle for him with a running line, by hand, without a float.

The gudgeon is of a small size; those few, however, that are caught in the Kennet and Cole, are three times the weight of those taken eisewhere. One was once taken near Uxbridge, that weighed half a pound.

The author "On Angling in the River Trent,” gives us a new method of catching them he first desires us, 66 never to continue in the water long, though he has been in it for six hours toge ther;" he then observes with his usual circumspection," that the best way of catching them, s by going into the water, and stirring up the sand and gravel." This surely may be termed gud

geon-husting more than gudgeon-fishing: Perhaps they are of a different species in the Trent than in the Thames, &c. &c.!!

PERCA FLUVIATILIS, MINOR SEU AURATA,

The Pope or Ruff; this fish with a double name, is small, and rarely grows bigger than a gudgeon; in shape very like the perch, but is better food, being in the taste as pleasant as any fish whatever.

It is armed with spines like the perch, but has only one back fin. It is of a dirty green, almost transparent, and spotted with black. It seldom exceeds six inches in length.

His haunts are in the deepest running parts of a gravelly river, the exact bottom whereof, having found by plumbing, bait your hooks with smal red-worms or brandlings; for you may angle with two or three, and have excellent sport. He bites very greedily, and as they swim in shoals, you may catch twenty or thirty at one standing, in a cool, gloomy day. Always bait the ground with earth, and use the same tackle as for the gudgeon. The river Yare in Norfolk, is almost peculiar for plenty of ruffs.

Hook, No. 9.

ALBURNUS,

The Bleak or Bley; on account of its eager ness to catch flies, is called by some the riverswallow, and by others the fresh-water sprat, because of its resemblance to the sea-sprat. He bites very eagerly at all sorts of worms, flies, pastes, and sheep's blood. You may fish for him with six or seven small hooks at a time. He is

an excellent fish to initiate a young angler in fly-fishing, by his whipping for them in a hot summer's evening, with a small artificial black gnat. Your tackle must be fine and neatly formed. He is a capital bait for the pike.

Hook, No. 13.

The bleak seldom exceeds five or six inches in length; artificial pearls are made with the scales of this fish, and of the dace. They are beaten into a fine powder, then diluted with water, and introduced into a thin glass bubble, which is afterwards filled with wax. The French were the inventors of this art. Dr. Lister says, that when he was at Paris, a certain artist used in one winter, thirty hampers full of fish in this manufacture.

VARIUS, SEU PHOXINUS LÆVIS,

The Minnow or Pink; though one of the smallest fishes, is as excellent a fish to eat as any of the most famed. They are generally found in March and April, and remain till the cold weather compels them to retire to their winter-quar ters. He is of a greenish, or wavy sky colour, his belly very white, his back blackish; and is a most excellent bait for any of the fish of prey: namely. the pike, trout, perch, &c. His baits are small red-worms, wasps, cads, &c. If you can catch enough of them, they will make an excellent tansey, their heads and tails being cut off; and fried in with eggs, a sauce made of butter, sugar, and verjuice. The smallest of hooks. The minnow is a most killing bait for the large trout, perch, and chub.